


The Avatar's Love

by Lovedmoviesb



Series: Air and Water [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Kataang - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26078683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lovedmoviesb/pseuds/Lovedmoviesb
Summary: An anthology of moments in the life of Avatar Aang and his family.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar)
Series: Air and Water [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1887475
Comments: 22
Kudos: 75





	1. Morning Ritual

“Shhh, son,” Aang gently lifted Bumi from his crib, pulling him securely to his chest. 

The infant obeyed for the time being, lulled by the steady beat of his father’s heart. He snuggled into Aang's goldenrod robes, chubby fists curling into the fabric. Aang beamed, sweeping on light feet from his bedroom. He turned as he exited, ensuring that Katara was still asleep beneath the blankets. 

“Want to see a sunrise?” Aang dipped his head to press a kiss to Bumi’s curly hair. 

Bumi answered in gurgles and grunts, happy to be free from the constraints of his crib. 

The outside air was chilly at this altitude but Aang could scarcely feel it. He summoned a warm breeze, moving the winds as though they were a part of himself. It took a moment to maneuver a length of cloth around his body, tying it just so to ensure that Bumi was safe. When he was satisfied, Aang seized his staff, flicking it open with practiced grace. 

“Ready?” he asked his son brightly. 

Bumi opened wide eyes, screeching in delight. 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Aang grinned, taking off in a gust of wind. 

Flying had always been his favorite part of being an airbender, but it took on a special kind of joy when his son was with him. Bumi was only a few months old, but he loved the winds as much as his father. Even now he was squealing with pure glee, doing his best to kick free from where he was swaddled. 

Aang rose and dove, adding loops and spirals for both of their amusement. The sky passed rapidly from indigo to bright gold, the sun creeping over the horizon to greet them. By the time Aang began his descent, it was high overhead, shining light on the woman waiting for them below.

He touched down in front of Katara with a smile, leaning forward to kiss her. She held his face against hers, tugging lightly at his bearded chin. 

“Did you boys have a good morning?” she asked, untangling Bumi from his sling. 

Their son went joyfully into her arms, babbling up a storm. 

“We did,” Aang answered, tossing an arm over her shoulder. “You’ll have to come next time.”

“Next time, wake me up,” Katara pinched him lightly, bouncing Bumi. 

“Will do,” Aang promised, walking with his family back into the house, the day stretching out before them. 


	2. Dancing

The music from the banquet hall washed out into the night and down the temple steps. Aang could feel the vibrations even through the soles of his shoes, the rhythms working their way to the heart of him. It was a fitting tune for a summer night in the Fire Nation, light and airy. It suited his purposes perfectly as he rotated, pulling the woman in his arms closer still. 

Katara giggled, her hand tightening around his. Her skirts danced on the air like ripples on water, moving like they were a part of her. Aang watched their motion, the flash of deep indigo cut with teal and cream, all undulating to and fro as their feet moved. 

Katara’s fingers kept time against the nape of Aang’s neck, tracing swirls to match her skirt. 

“We should probably go in and rejoin the others,” her suggestion was more than half a sigh. 

Aang bent his head, kissing her gently. “In a minute,” he promised, still moving them to the music. 

It didn’t require much focus to summon the air beneath their feet, sending them spiraling gracefully above the courtyard. Katara hung on, stifling her laughs against his neck, her pulse racing. 

“What dance is this?” she asked breathlessly, still moving with him as though they’d never left the ground.

“One just for you,” Aang grinned. 

Sokka was waiting for them near the doorway when they came back to Earth at last, Suki on his arm. Katara threw her brother a warning look, daring him without words to tease them. Sokka was undaunted.

“You’re making the rest of us look bad,” he observed, rolling his eyes. 

Aang flushed but couldn’t bring himself to try for contrition. 

“We just love dancing,” he said simply, walking back into the ballroom hand in hand with Katara. 


	3. Oh Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka calls it like he sees it. Still, he wonders when Katara and Aang are going to see the obvious. Glimpes of Kataang through Sokka's eyes.

Aang was meditating atop Appa, hovering above the bison’s furry crown, his legs crossed and his eyes closed. It was a sight to behold for sure, but Sokka had long since gotten used to Aang doing incredible things as though they were perfectly normal. 

“Do you think that’s something all airbenders can do?” Katara asked suddenly. 

Sokka craned his head in his sister’s direction. She was seated as well, bundled against the cool night air, staring forward. 

“What?” he blinked at her, wondering where her mind was. 

“The things Aang can do,” Katara began again, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. “Do you think it’s because he’s the Avatar, or--”

She broke off, lost in her musings. Sokka held in a sigh. 

“Why do you care?” he asked. Ever since Katara had her fortune read, she’d been full of unanswerable questions. 

“Either way, he’s a powerful bender,” Katara continued as though Sokka hadn’t spoken. 

A million comments raced to his mind at once, but Sokka swallowed them down. Instead, he reached for his little sister’s arm, giving her what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze. 

“He’s not the only one,” Sokka winked, settling back against Appa’s saddle. 

“Thanks Sokka,” Katara smiled, rubbing her necklace absently. 

“Anytime,” he answered, shutting his eyes. 

-l-l-l-l-

“It’s stupid that Pakku won’t teach Katara,” Aang continued on his tirade, wearing tracks into the ice beneath his feet as he paced. 

“She’ll figure it out,” Sokka said, watching as Aang bounced back and forth. 

“She’s the most talented bender I know,” Aang continued. “And I’m the Avatar! He should listen to me. Right?”

Wide grey eyes looked towards Sokka entreatingly. Sokka held in a sigh. 

“You could try that, Aang,” he acquiesced. “But Katara can handle herself. She doesn’t need you to intervene.”

“That’s true,” Aang admitted, pausing in his steps. “And I wouldn’t want Katara to be mad at me. But I do want to help.”

“Of course you do,” Sokka said patiently. Aang  _ always _ wanted to help, especially where Katara was concerned. 

“It’s just not fair,” Aang began anew, resuming his pacing. “Katara is so talented. If anyone deserves to learn, it’s her.”

“Well, life’s not fair buddy,” Sokka said. His mind wandered to Yue, to her soft spoken words, the way her hands felt in his. 

“Yeah,” Aang sighed, dropping back into his crossed-legged stance. He hovered over the ice, despondent. 

“It’ll work out,” Sokka said, turning towards the Northern Water Tribe palace. “It always does.”

-l-l-l-l-

“He won’t talk to me,” Katara lamented in low tones. “He  _ always _ talks to me.”

“Aang always stays pretty positive, but even he’s allowed to be sad sometimes,” Sokka reminded her. The Serpent's Pass wasn't the most comfortable place to chat, but then again, he couldn't remember the last time they were all comfortable. 

“But talking about it helps,” his little sister imparted. “He misses Appa. I get that. If he’d just let me in--”

“Katara,” Sokka steadied her with a hand to her back. “Aang will come around. You have to let people get themselves through things sometimes. Grief takes time, you know.”

A silence stretched between them, heavy with the shared loss of the past. Sokka heard Katara sniffle before she quickly quelled it. 

“I just want everyone to be alright,” she sighed heavily, her face falling into her hands. 

“We are alright,” he reminded her. “If anyone can find Appa, it’s the Avatar. And if anyone can get through to the Avatar, it’s you.”

Katara scooted closer to him, laying her head on his shoulder. Above, the moonlight bathed the craggy surroundings in a warm pale glow.

“It must be nice to see Suki,” Katara hedged. 

It was Sokka’s turn to sigh. “She tried to kiss me,” he admitted. 

“You couldn’t?” Katara asked knowingly. 

“I just feel…” he felt a million things, but one emotion more acutely than the others. “Guilty.”

“That’s understandable,” his little sister soothed. “But liking Suki doesn’t erase what you had with Yue.”

“Maybe not,” Sokka tilted his head, leaning against Katara. 

“I’m glad you’re here,” she murmured, her eyes fluttering shut. 

“Me too,” Sokka smiled just the slightest. 

-l-l-l-l-

“You alright there, Aang?” Sokka stepped up to his friend’s side. 

The palace was filled to the brim with Ba Sing Se dignitaries, all milling about and speaking in cultured tones. For all of the splendor, Sokka could only miss the parties back home. It’d been years since the Southern Tribe had something to celebrate. Back before the Fire Tribe came, they used to dance and sing. After his mother died, all music seemed to have gone out of the world. 

The Avatar blushed scarlet at once, his gaze falling to the ground and away from Katara. Sokka grinned, sensing an opening. 

“Is it Toph?” he baited. “Katara cleaned her up really well.”

“Uh, yeah…” Aang stammered. “She looks really pretty. Well, they both look beautiful. Katara-- she did a good job. She always does. I mean...not that being pretty is--”

Sokka held in his laugh. “Maybe you should tell her. Girls like compliments. Toph, I mean.”

“I don’t think Toph is a compliment kind of girl,” Aang ventured. “Not that kind of compliment.”

“Katara might like it,” Sokka suggested slyly. There was no maybe about it. Sokka had seen her preening, looking at Aang out of the corner of her eye. They could both learn some subtly. 

“Maybe,” Aang burst out, looking like the thought alone might send him into the Avatar state. “Do you think she’d want to dance?”

“It’d probably look weird if the help started dancing with a dignitary, don’t you think?” Sokka reminded him. 

“Right,” Aang swallowed, shaking his head as though to clear his thoughts. “We should find the Earth King.”

“Good idea,” Sokka agreed. 

Across the room, he caught Katara’s eye. She was staring at Aang with that same moony-eyed gaze.

Sokka sighed. One of these days, he’d have to do something about this.

-l-l-l-l-

Katara thought he was asleep. Sokka didn’t bother to correct her. It was hard enough to convince her to let him into the room as it was. He stayed still in his chair in the corner, watching through hooded eyes. 

He’d only slept a few hours in the last few days. He wondered if Katara had slept at all. She barely left Aang’s side. The Avatar had barely stirred since his accident, but Katara was not discouraged, caring for him with a tenderness that Sokka recognized. 

She was leaning over Aang’s bed, dutifully bending water into his mouth. She’d spent the entirety of two weeks saving Aang’s life. He laid unmoving, pale and broken, but gaining strength under Katara’s watchful eye. 

Their father had asked Sokka seriously what it was between the Avatar and Katara. Sokka was certain that he knew. Still, 12 and 14 years old were perhaps too young to see things as they truly were. 

Katara finished her work and lowered herself to the bed, exhaustion weighing heavily on her shoulders. Sokka watched her, wishing he could bring her comfort. Above all, he hoped that there would be time for Aang and Katara to see what the rest of them could see so clearly. 

He had a feeling there would be. 

-l-l-l-l-

“So,” Sokka sidled up to Aang, doing his best to keep a straight face. “Are you sneaking around kissing my little sister?”

Aang oscillated in rapid succession from bright red to a ghastly pale, a look of panic crossing his face. 

“We didn’t mean to sneak! It just happened. I wanted to tell you but Kat--- we thought maybe we should keep it quiet just for a little while until we could figure out…” 

Sokka watched him stammer as long as he could stand it. The laugh burst through his lips about a minute into Aang’s heavy handed explanation. 

“Aang,” Sokka cut him off. “It’s fine.”

“It’s fine?” Aang’s color returned to normal and air rushed out of his lungs. 

“Not that you need my permission,” Sokka continued. 

Aang mustered a smile. “Thanks,” he blushed once more. “I didn’t think Katara would ever think of me this way.”

“Really?” Sokka fought down the urge to roll his eyes. “I saw it coming.”

Aang’s gray eyes widened. “How?”

Sokka laughed again, waving at Katara as she spotted them from a distance. 

“I’ll tell you both sometime,” Sokka promised, leaving the two lovebirds to their fledgling relationship. 


	4. Peach Fuzz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aang needs to shave. Katara has other plans.

“Sweetie, wait.”

Katara’s limbs tangled around Aang, holding him in place. He stilled immediately, amused despite himself. 

“Katara,” he reminded her patiently, attempting to focus on the situation at hand and not her fingers walking paths up his bare arms. “If we don’t get up soon, everyone is going to know--”

“Toph knows already, which means it’s pretty certain that Zuko knows. And Sokka and I have a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ pact,” Katara was completely unconcerned. She pressed a kiss to his neck, giggling against his sleep-warmed skin when Aang shivered. "No one else's opinion matters."

It was a solid argument. “I have council meetings today,” Aang tried again. “You have the waterbending acolytes.”

“We do,” she hummed, still refusing to release him. She smoothed her hands higher upwards, pausing to tug at the ears he’d finally grown into. Her fingers brushed the nape of his neck, curling up over his head. 

Aang’s next breath was little more than a sharp gasp. “And I need to shave,” he managed to squeak out. Unbidden, his own palms fell to the legs wrapped in a vice around his waist. He cupped them tightly, groaning when the muscles flexed, pulling him closer still. 

Blunt nails scraped against the dark stubble. Katara leaned her face full against him. 

“I’ve always liked your hair,” she admitted. 

All desire to leave fled Aang at once. Instead, he reached backwards for his fiance, encouraging her touch. 

“I don’t have to shave right away,” he relented, relaxing against her. 

She traced patterns into the soft dark hair, the swirling symbols of both of their cultures. 

“You need rest anyway,” Katara whispered, continuing her work. 

Aang, already deep asleep, did not answer her. 

With a smile, Katara kissed him gently before drifting off herself. 


	5. Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three kids will test you. Thankfully, Aang has patience in spades.

“Aang,” Katara burst into their bedroom, a familiar expression on her face. 

For a moment, Aang froze in his tracks, trying to place the source of her ire. It became clear in one spectacular moment when the sound of ceramics shattering unceremoniously to the floor. 

“BUMI!” a young girl’s voice shrieked at the top of her lungs, louder still than the rest of the ruckus. 

“It’s your fault, Kya!” a little boy’s voice, indignant and bellowing. “Mom said not to waterbend in the house--”

“Don’t throw things then!” Kya objected. “You almost hit Tenzin!”

“I was nowhere near him!” Bumi argued. “Besides, he can just blow it away.”

“They’re pretty loud for such little kids,” Aang observed. 

Katara’s face contorted, the tell-tell tick developing between her eyes. She took a deep breath, then another, willing her complexion back from blood red to it’s normal umber hue. 

“I need you to go deal with them,” she exhaled, indigo eyes fluttering shut. “Before I freeze all three of our children.”

“Even the baby?” Aang asked, amused. 

“Please go use some of those monk skills of yours,” Katara instructed, wincing as there was another crash. 

Aang did as she asked, pulling his robe back on and unfolding from his cross legged pose. He stood, leaning swiftly to kiss his wife soundly. 

“It’s your turn to mediate,” he reminded her, hugging her for good measure. “We’ll see you in a few hours.”

He shut the door tightly behind him, turning to his trio of children. Bumi’s hair was a wild tangle of dark locks, Kya’s braid had come loose, and Tenzin was covered in his mother’s makeup. Aang inhaled. The jars were easy to sort out with some mild earth-bending and he managed to save most of his wife’s perfume. Kya dutifully stood still while Aang redid her hair, and the three of them listened to his quiet lecture with almost their full attention. It would suffice. 

“Alright,” he scooped Tenzin into his carrier, seized his sons and daughter’s hands and shepherd them all outside.

It wasn’t long until they were all screaming again, though it was considerably more joyful in mid air upon Appa’s back. The bison grazed serenely nearby while Aang helped his children into the river, watching as Kya and Bumi immediately launched into a water war. Bender or not, Bumi held his own, reminding Aang so much of Sokka that his heart ached. Kya gave as good as she got, commanding the waves with talent inherited directly from her mother. Tenzin sat in his father’s lap, unleashing periodic bursts of air from his hands whenever he got too excited. 

“Dad!” Bumi yelled for him, his mouth split wide in a gap-toothed smile. “Come play!”

With a shout and a grin, Aang obeyed. 

They returned later, sun drenched and tuckered out, all three children hanging exhaustedly from him. Aang tucked them in, leaving baths for the morning. He found Katara in their room, candles lit, soaking in the tub. 

One eye opened when he entered, a mischievous glint spreading over her face. 

“Not too sick of water I hope?” She queried, making space for him. 

Aang shucked his robes in record time, climbing in after her. She giggled while he situated himself, wrapping her in his arms. 

“How was mediating?” He asked, leaning into the crook between her neck and shoulder. 

“Relaxing,” she sighed, guiding the droplets running down his skin. “How was the river?”

“Exhilarating,” Aang grinned. “They remind me of us.”

“Probably why they’re so hardheaded,” Katara snorted. 

Aang laughed. “No doubt,” he agreed. 

“One day you’ll have to teach me that patience of yours,” she murmured, lulling back into him. 

Aang kissed her. “Someone’s got to yell at them sometimes. Maybe we can give each other lessons. Like old times.”

Katara turned in his embrace, linking her arms around his shoulders. 

“Deal,” she promised, thoughts of the children momentarily forgotten. 

  
  
  
  



End file.
